Ernie Els Triumphs In British Open

Relief washed over Ernie Els as he cradled the silver claret jug after winning the British Open in a battle that could have ruined him.

The South African golfer didn't beat Tiger Woods at Muirfield on Sunday. It only felt that way.

"I'm back on track," Els said. "I can now legitimately try to win the majors."

After four years of marveling at Woods' skills and questioning his own, Els showed he has the mettle to do just that.

Woods, who was trying to win the third leg of the Grand Slam, shot himself out of the tournament with an 81 in the third round on Saturday, his worst score as a professional.

He left town on a much better note. Woods had seven birdies for a 65, matching the best score of a sunny, almost balmy day in Scotland. He finished at even-par 284, tied for 28th.

Els, nicknamed the Big Easy, made it hard on himself Sunday by squandering a three-stroke lead on the back nine, by taking a double bogey when the trophy was in his grasp, by making the kind of history he could have done without.

In the first four-man playoff in British Open history, and the first one that required more than four holes of stroke play, Els outlasted Thomas Levet of France with a signature bunker shot to save par on the first sudden-death hole.

"I didn't come here with a lot of confidence," Els said. "I'm going to leave here as the Open champion. It's been a little journey for me this week."

He had just enough strength left to throw his arms in the air and his hat into the fading sunlight of a Scottish sky after his 5-foot par putt curled in the right side of the cup.

It was the third major championship for the 32-year-old Els, his first since the U.S. Open at Congressional five years ago.

None of three was easy, but this one tops the list.

Els was in despair after a double bogey on the 16th hole, which put him one stroke behind with two holes to play.

"Walking off 16, I was like, 'Is this the way you want to be remembered? By screwing up in an Open championship?' That wasn't one of my finer moments," he said.

Els had no room for error, and didn't make any. Somehow, he pulled himself back together and finished birdie-par to get into the playoff. He had enough time to eat a sandwich and consult with his psychologist, Jos Vanstiphout.

"He just basically agreed that I had four more holes to play," Els said. "And those four holes were the most important holes of my career. I was going to give it 100 percent."

Els made all pars in the four holes of overtime to force sudden death with Levet.

Then came the most amazing par of all.

With his right foot anchored on the top of a bunker left of the 18th green, Els dug in and blasted out to 5 feet.

"That bunker shot was a piece of nerves," Levet said. "He's very, very talented. I lost to a great player."

Els was utterly exhausted and exceedingly pleased.

"I guess I've got a little fight in me when it counts," Els said. "It would have been a very hard loss if I didn't win this jug."

No other trophy has ever meant so much.

Els honed his game on European tour soil and was destined for greatness until Woods came along and started collecting majors at a frightening rate. Els has been runner-up to him twice in the majors, six times overall.

"This was one of the hardest tournaments I've ever played," Els said. "The emotions I went through today - I don't think I've ever been through that."

By Doug Ferguson